JUDGE DREDD
Ol’ Stony Face is returning to our screens in a new Judge Dredd TV show from Rebellion...
EXCLUSIVE NEWS ON THE NEW TV SHOW
Holy drokk! After five years of fan pleas, DVD buying campaigns and short-lived glimmers of hope that were crushed faster than a mutant uprising, Judge Dredd is finally returning to our screens. This time, however, it’s not a movie, but a TV series called Judge Dredd: Mega-City One.
Made by entertainment company IM Global and Rebellion Productions (a new initiative set up by the company that owns Dredd’s parent title, 2000 AD), the series will be filmed in the UK and is intended to tell both new tales as well as bringing classic Dredd adventures to life.
“My best guess is that it’s at least two years away,” says Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley when Red Alert catches up with him to find out more about the show. “But we’re so early in the process that things could happen a bit faster, or much more slowly.”
Whereas the 1995 Stallone movie crammed in the Dredd-lore (and mangled most of it beyond recognition in the process), the 2012 film focused in on one Block and a single criminal gang. The TV show, Kingsley says, will give them the opportunity to be much more expansive. “Long-form storytelling makes showing Mega-City One and its inhabitants much easier,” he says. “Trying to fit all of that into a two-hour movie is very hard.”
While the recent film was comparatively grounded, with the most fantastical elements being the city itself, Rebellion is also keen for the show to delve into more esoteric areas of the mythology. “Hopefully we’ll cover lots of elements from the comic books.” Could villains like the Dark Judges make an appearance? “Dark fantasy elements are one area that would be great to explore,” he admits. “The show will combine the macabre with the insane and the light-hearted. It’s a big place, after all, with 400 million stories to tell.”
Of course, the big question is, who will be donning the helmet of the mighty-chinned lawman? Karl Urban was a hit in the 2012 movie, nailing the character’s stoicism and subtle sense of humour, and many fans are eager for him to reprise the role. Despite rumours, however, Kingsley states that Rebellion hasn’t begun talks with the actor, though he admits that he knows Urban “well enough to have a chat with him”.
Likewise, when pressed if co-star Olivia Thirlby is likely to return as PSI Judge Anderson, Kingsley simply states, “That would be something interesting to consider.” Our fingers are crossed tighter than Dredd’s boots...
Look out for news about the Judge Dredd show in the coming months.